Monday, October 12, 2009

The Phillies' Best Postseason Catcher

Carlos Ruiz twice gave the Phillies the lead in Sunday's 6-5 win with RBI singles. He also moved into a tie for the team record for most career postseason RBIs by a catcher. (Granted, the Phillies postseason records aren't like the Yankees'--Yogi Berra had 10 RBIs in the 1956 World Series alone, and 39 for his career.)

Ruiz is now tied at 7 with Bob Boone and Darren Daulton. With one more RBI this series, he'll also tie Boone ('80 World Series) and Darren Daulton ('93 World Series) for most RBIs in a postseason series with 4.

Ruiz has been a standout in his five postseason series, hitting at least .313 in four of them. He's at .333 against Colorado with three RBIs, following up on last year's World Series when he hit .375, with 1 home run, 3 RBIs, a .500 OBP, and a 1.188 OPS.

Ruiz's continued productivity is unique among Phillies catchers in the postseason. All Phillies catchers combined had just 2 RBIs in the club's first five postseason series (1915, '50, '76, '77, '78). The Phillies' first postseason RBI by a catcher wasn't until Boone got one--and only one--in 1976.

Meanwhile, Ruiz has now reached base safely in seven straight games. Not coincidentally, in his three full seasons as a starter, the Phillies have won the National League East all three years.

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